Methylphenidate (MPH) in the management of fatigue in patients (pts) with advanced pancreatic cancer (APC): A retrospective analysis.

e20692 Background: Fatigue is the most common symptom (90%) in pts with APC and has a detrimental effect on pt's physical, emotional, and social aspects of life. No proven treatment exists for this devastating symptom. MPH is typically prescribed for ADHD and has been tested to treat fatigue with inconsistent results in other cancers. We performed a retrospective study to assess benefit of MPH in ameliorating fatigue in pts with APC. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed records of pts with APC seen at our outpt clinics between Jun 2011 – Nov 2014. Fatigue based on a Visual Analog Fatigue Scale (VAFS) was recorded on days when pts received chemotherapy. Data on pts with APC with VAFS of ≥ 4 out of 10 was collected per NCCN recommendations. Pts were then classified as grade 1 (VAFS 1,2,3), grade 2 (VAFS 4,5,6) and grade 3 (VAFS 7,8,9,10) to correspond with Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE) Version 4.0. MPH was dosed at 5 mg daily in AM and escalated to 10mg after 2 wks according to resp...